Coyotes kill teen folk singer in Cape Breton park

A young Canadian folk singer who had just set off on a solo tour to boost a promising musical career died Wednesday after being mauled by two coyotes in what is believed to be one of the country's first fatal attacks by the animals.
Taylor Mitchell was hiking alone in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Tuesday afternoon when a pair of coyotes attacked her, leaving her critically injured with bite wounds covering most of her body.
The 19-year-old singer's screams for help were heard by at least two other hikers, who rushed to the Skyline Trail and called 911 at around 3 p.m. as the animals continued their brutal attack on the young Toronto woman.

Coyotes kill teen folk singer in Cape Breton park

A young Canadian folk singer who had just set off on a solo tour to boost a promising musical career died Wednesday after being mauled by two coyotes in what is believed to be one of the country's first fatal attacks by the animals.
Taylor Mitchell was hiking alone in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Tuesday afternoon when a pair of coyotes attacked her, leaving her critically injured with bite wounds covering most of her body.
The 19-year-old singer's screams for help were heard by at least two other hikers, who rushed to the Skyline Trail and called 911 at around 3 p.m. as the animals continued their brutal attack on the young Toronto woman.
Mitchell, who was on a three-week tour of the region to promote her debut CD, was to play in Sydney on Wednesday night when she decided to go for a hike in the scenic park.
Mitchell, who had about a dozen concert dates in the Maritimes, was rushed to a local hospital and then airlifted to Halifax. She died at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
Paul Maynard of Emergency Health Services said she was already in critical condition when paramedics arrived on the scene and was bleeding heavily from multiple bite wounds.
"She was losing a considerable amount of blood from the wounds," he said.
"This was really out of the ordinary - the first I've heard of something like this."
RCMP Sgt. Brigdit Leger said officers shot one of the two animals, apparently wounding it, but both managed to get away.
An official with Parks Canada said they barricaded the entrance to the trail where Mitchell was attacked and were trying to find the animals to determine what prompted such an unusual attack.
Helene Robichaud, the park's superintendent, said there have been a handful of reports of aggressive coyotes over the last 15 years, but they have not seen any attacks on people.
"There's been some reports of aggressive animals, so it's not unknown," she said. "But we certainly never have had anything so dramatic and tragic."
Officials shot a coyote late Tuesday, but Robichaud doubted that it was one of the two involved in the attack.
The provincial Natural Resources Department said there is no other record of a fatal coyote attack on a human in Nova Scotia since the animals were first discovered in the province in the '70s.
In 2003, a teenage girl was bitten on the arm by a coyote while walking on the same trail as Mitchell, said Germaine LeMoine of Parks Canada. The girl's parents managed to scare the animal away.
Biologists said it's unlikely the coyotes involved had contracted rabies or were protecting young animals.
Bob Bancroft, a Nova Scotia wildlife biologist, said coyotes shy away from humans. But not all animals - particularly young, inexperienced coyotes in parks - view humans as predators.
"This is probably just a couple of coyotes that saw something vulnerable and went for it," he said. "It's horrible. It's not something you would expect at all."
Coyotes in the region are larger and behave somewhat differently than their counterparts in Western Canada, he said. Large males in Nova Scotia can weigh up to 60 pounds.
Simon Gadbois, a professor at Dalhousie University who studies animal behaviour, said hikers should always be vigilant and aware of their surroundings.
Should a hiker unintentionally surprise a coyote or other animal, Gadbois has simple, potentially life-saving advice: Never act like prey."The worst thing you can do is start running away," he said. "Wave your arms, shout, just show that you mean business basically and most animals will think twice."
Ethel Merry, who manages a motel 10 kilometres from the park in Cheticamp, said people in the area have been seeing more coyotes in the last three years and are calling for controls on their numbers.
Merry said she and her family have seen packs of up to seven coyotes wandering around people's yards and attacking pets.
"I'm not surprised at all that this happened," she said. "The coyotes are all around us. ... I am so afraid to walk my road."

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Call Of the Wild

March 25, 2010 - 11:34

These Animals are NOT native to our Island and a Bounty should be brought back out to encourage there Extermination and DNR should have there Heads Checked for termites for bringing them here in the first place!

I wasn't saying it was the main factor in low populations....Of coarse there are other factors such as bad winters and the lack of any wooded areas left on our island, but the facts are we had a deer population in the 20 000's in the 80's and as low as 4000 the past few years. Your telling me its DNR's mismanagement and Illegal hunting alone that did this. Who's being naive?

A tragic has happened on our beautiful island...we cannot blame anyone ,nor should we blame the animals . I frequent the woods many times in Rear Baddeck, but there is a certain time of the month I do not go in to the wild, and that is when mother nature is calling on me . As this scent does carry far and does drive bears, coyotes, wolves to attack , as it drives them crazy. Maybe this was the reason, or maybe the animals were sick with disease...who knows. We must remember, when we enter the woods..we know we are not alone.

This was a very tragic event!...no matter how rare attacks on people by coyotes or other large carnivores, it is still very disturbing. Eradicating a species is not the answer, education is our best defense in protecting ourselves and our pets. All species in our forests have a right to exist...I find it naive to fault the coyote for low deer populations. Mismanagement and illegal hunting have done more damage to the deer population....As for animals causing fatalities, none are more guilty than the moose! Should we kill all the moose in the Maritimes?

the attack on Taylor Mitchell was absolutely shocking, especially by coyotes. These animals are usually very timid but can adapt and change very quickly. Taylor Mitchell made a fatal error by running away from the coyotes, as this had triggered their predatory instincts, viewing her as prey. All predators no matter how big or small can be very dangerous and very unpredictable. Experts who study a certain animal will always give advice regarding safety, but know matter how well they think they know an animal, like humans, animals can change and surprise us. Mitchell Taylor was alone on that fateful day making her venerable and an easy target , Predators are less likely to attack when there is more than one person, a crowd or in animal terms, a herd. The lesson is quite simple - Never underestimate any animal no matter how well you think you know them. My heart goes to the young singer and her family. R I P Taylor Mitchell

edward

March 25, 2010 - 09:51

I agree with Call of the Wild...perhaps a certain group can trade their hakapiks in for rifles....IMHOO

I wish there was an easy solution to this problem. I love our forests and hunt only to feed a family. If your government introduced these non native coyotes then every one of them needs to be moved or killed. Like one person said the deer population is down. They will now seek another food source. Bet the rabbits, mice and chipmunks are all but gone too. The nice thing about the raptors is if the food source becomes low they can fly to the mainland. Did CWS consider that? Doubt it.

Chances are the coyotes they released were raised and fed by humans and lost their fear of them. Now it is in the blood line.

My family is Canadian. I am sorry to hear that CWS is a lot like our government. Not a clue.

Very tragic indeed...coyotes have run wild for years driving down our deer populations..etc... How long till some celeb. comes out of the dark to defend the coyote. Wheres Pam Andersen and Paul Mc Cartney

Truly a tragedy. But you are in their domain, and they are wild creatures. Should be interesting for the next meeting about ATV's and walking trails, wonder how many people want to walk the trails now??

The coyotes have been killing our innocent pets for several years! Now a young woman has lost her life to them. I think it is past time that these useless animals were exterminated from our beautiful island. It is a sad thing for residents and tourists when we can't enjoy the beauty that surrounds us because of these wild animals! They should never have been brought to Cape Breton!

This was a tragic event, a young girl brought down in her prime by a predator like a coyote.
I guess we have Stora and Natural Resources Department for this killing! At one time there were no Coyotes on Cape Breton Island until Stora started cutting wood in the Highlands and the Rabbits were eating up all there new tress. So Natural Resources Department ( Lands and Forest Dept. ) and Stora Forest Industry decided to take 4 or 5 pair of Coyotes and release them into the Highlands/Wreck Cove area. For the last thirty years or more you have them running everywhere on the island, killing our pets and animals and now killing humans. Go figure, so thank you very much Stora and of course Natural Resources Department. A job well done!!!!!! NOT!!!!!

Coyotes are just killing machines .They dont have to be hungry to kill.Its long over due for action to be taken.In numbers these creatures can be dangerous .Willy from Whycocomagh you got it right.Willy Jones got it wrong.DNR WILL DO NOTHING.....MAYBE SET UP BAMBI TO TRY AND BAIT SOME LAW ABIDING HUNTER INTO A TRAP.

First off my condolences to the family and friends of this young lady. This is very tragic. Second Lyn get a life. It is easy to say you would have acted differently but who knows. At least they called for help and maybe they did try braches and rocks. Were you there? Not ever part of the story gets printed. Get off your high horse. To the people that called 911 thank you. Also let's not forget about the 911 responders (EMS, Police, Wardens) this was a brutal and savage scene. These individuals may have some PTSD.

Truly a tragedy. Who would have thought this would ever happen? But I think this is only the beginning. It seems that people all over Cape Breton are seeing more coyotes which probably has a lot to do with more of our forests being cut. We used to see the odd one around and now we hear packs of them howling not too far away from the house. If we keep destroying their home, they are going to start coming into our backyards!

My deepest condolences to Taylor's family and friends. Regardless of the numerous possibilities as to why this specifically happened, the tragedy is that a young woman is dead and an old argument is reopened.
My father was born and raised on Cape Breton. My children and I have frequented the Highlands Park/trail areas during our vacations spent there, as well as many other U.S. cousins.
The young woman was alone, and unfamiliar with the territory. I cannot imagine what she must have endured throughout this horrific event. Yet, her being alone on the trail is the one constant fact that added to this tragedy.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of this young lady... this is a terrable thing...
I also offer for experienced coyote hunters from the mid-west USA to come and use out methods to thin the coyote population....

Natutal Resources will denie bringing in the coyote. But then again they denie a lot of things like there being cougars. And Lonewolf, you are quite right about DNR bring in the coyote to control the rabbit population that were eating the tops off the seedlings that were being planted. Natural Resources does a lot of stupid things and then try to hide it. But then again a lot of the employees of DNR haven't a clue as to what is going on anyhow.

Willy something is wrong with you Pal. A person is the most precious thing on earth. No coyote will find a cure for cancer or the many sicknesses we see today, or minister to those who are suffering, no Coyote will educate our children and impart truth and dignity to them, and make them better citizens. No coyote with fight for your freedom on foreign lands so you can have a good and free life, no my friend it is people who do that. Coyote live only by instinct, not emotion, they simply look for the next creature to kill and eat . They have their place but not on Cape Breton, they are destroying the deer and rabbit , population and are destroying a way of life on Cape Breton to simply walk and play without fear.

Jim

February 22, 2010 - 17:00

The Mitchell family has set up a Memorial Fund in Taylor's name. It hasn't yet been decided exactly how the fund will be used but some ideas being discussed include: a yearly scholarship to a songwriting student at Etobicoke Shool for the Arts (Taylor's alma mater); a yearly prize for an outstanding young performer at the Canadian Folk Music Awards; a bursary for a young touring performer; a donation to charity. We wish to honour Taylor's memory and think of something very special that represents her ideals and her values. When the decision has been finalized, the family will send out a notification email to all those who made a donation.
You can contribute easily to this memorial fund via Paypal by going to Taylors website at (http://www.taylormitchell.ca/index.php?show=24)

These Animals are NOT native to our Island and a Bounty should be brought back out to encourage there Extermination and DNR should have there Heads Checked for termites for bringing them here in the first place!

I wasn't saying it was the main factor in low populations....Of coarse there are other factors such as bad winters and the lack of any wooded areas left on our island, but the facts are we had a deer population in the 20 000's in the 80's and as low as 4000 the past few years. Your telling me its DNR's mismanagement and Illegal hunting alone that did this. Who's being naive?

A tragic has happened on our beautiful island...we cannot blame anyone ,nor should we blame the animals . I frequent the woods many times in Rear Baddeck, but there is a certain time of the month I do not go in to the wild, and that is when mother nature is calling on me . As this scent does carry far and does drive bears, coyotes, wolves to attack , as it drives them crazy. Maybe this was the reason, or maybe the animals were sick with disease...who knows. We must remember, when we enter the woods..we know we are not alone.

This was a very tragic event!...no matter how rare attacks on people by coyotes or other large carnivores, it is still very disturbing. Eradicating a species is not the answer, education is our best defense in protecting ourselves and our pets. All species in our forests have a right to exist...I find it naive to fault the coyote for low deer populations. Mismanagement and illegal hunting have done more damage to the deer population....As for animals causing fatalities, none are more guilty than the moose! Should we kill all the moose in the Maritimes?